Secunderabad: SCB residents in a flap over lack of emergency services

Secunderabad: The torrential rain on Monday left the residents of Secunderabad Cantonment in a state of fear. Reason? The SCB does not have emergency response services. Locals alleged that the board is not equipped with emergency response teams that can be deployed to provide relief as soon as people call for help, unlike the GHMC. Also, no measures have been taken for rescuing the affected persons from water-inundated areas.

According to residents, if rain continues for some more days, areas that could be affected are Trimulgherry, Old Vasavi Nagar, Bowenpally, Rasooplura and Marredpally.

Said T Satish Gupta, president of Vasavi Nagar, "in GHMC limits DRF team were allotted to clear water-logging. They removed tangled wires and uprooted trees and branches in various areas. In SCB there are no such teams. Also, it does not have a centralised mechanism to receive calls and pass on information to the concerned officials, so that they may respond with necessary tools and equipment. Once we complain to the SCB officials they don't send staff immediately to the area. A few workers from the sanitation wing visit the areas and drain out water only. It would be better if the SCB deploys emergency response teams who can follow-up whenever there is a need."

According to Nayeem of Rasooplura, "On many issues the SCB areas lags behind. Due to downpour many areas witnessed overflowing in nalas. As the board does not have proper emergency response services, last year residents of Rasooplura hired boats and other rescue equipment from a private agency. This time we have not faced any issue. But the city is on high alert. If rain continues the colonies may get inundated". Said Venkat Ramana, a resident of SCB, "unlike the GHMC, the SCB does not have disaster response force; there is no dedicated team to handle issues following heavy rain. Whenever it occurs locals are forced to call the toll-free number."

''As all nalas have been cleared. We have not received any complaint from locals. About 10 teams have been deployed from the sanitation wing to clear water-logged areas,'' said a senior SCB official.